A Matching Hand
by BeverlyAnna
Summary: Lily was born with a Patronus tattooed upon her wrist. So was James. While it was nothing to worry over at first, Patronuses have the uncanny ability to change. Soulmate AU.


They had known there was something different about Lily Evans from the day she was born. It wasn't because of her red hair or green eyes, though they were unforgettable. It was the odd birthmark she had on her wrist: the perfect outline of a kangaroo, a glowing sort of white, and a bit of warmth to the touch.

Her sister Petunia had started referring to the mark as a "tramp stamp" the day she had learned how to fling an insult. But Lily liked the portrait of the kangaroo. She felt like it was protecting her from anything that might sneak up behind her. She liked how the joey depicted in its pouch looked safe and sheltered. She swore that sometimes if she looked at it for long enough, it would move.

The summer Lily Evans turned 11, she learned that she was a witch. She thought that this surely would explain the mark on her wrist, but the Professor who came to tell her about Hogwarts was wearing robes with long sleeves, and Lily didn't know how to work the mark into the conversation.

When she arrived at school, she noted that a flurry of her fellow students had marks on their own wrists. It took a week for rumor to circulate to the muggleborn Gryffindor first years that their marks were miniature versions of the Patronuses they would hopefully one day be able to cast. Not everyone had one, but for those who did they carried heavy connotations. It was said that a matching or complimentary Patronus meant one thing: soulmates.

When Lily finally learned what the Patronus represented, she spent weeks studying the wrists of her fellow students. It took her two weeks to memorize each of her classmates' marks. Boys and girls alike. She perhaps knew who was fated to be together before they knew it themselves.

Most of the time, Lily was blissfully unaware of the Patronus tattoos. Lily managed to ignore them for eight months of the school year.

The only time she made sure to pay attention to the wrists of those around her was at the start of each new academic year, when she eagerly made sure no one's Patronus complimented her own. She wasn't interested in finding a perfect match.

In between this preoccupation, exams occurred. Years passed. Friendships formed. Sometimes they fell apart. In the case of certain individuals, they fell apart and back together every other week. A war was fought. Students chose sides. They found comfort in their classmates.

On the days when they were getting along, Lily in particular found comfort in the friendship of one James Potter.

James was a dark haired, brown-eyed boy with a Patronus tattoo of his own. It was a stag, and because Lily had dedicated the last six years to studying people's wrists, she knew it was unique to him and him alone.

At least, it had been.

"James," Lily whined, tapping her quill against a piece of parchment, "are these questions making any sense to you? I've been trying to figure out the properties of a rootwood plant and why they're essential to Jenkin's Draught for twenty minutes, and all I know is that Jenkin's Draught would be twice as effective with some added rose quartz and _without_ rootwood plant."

"The trouble here, Lily," James said, "is that you know more about potions than the people who wrote the bloody textbook." He reached a hand out to her paper and said, "Let me see what you've got."

She sighed, but then dropped her quill in order to pass her parchment to James.

He didn't accept them, as his eyes became transfixed on something else. "Lily," James breathed quietly, "your wrist."

"What's wrong with it?" she asked, absentmindedly brushing it off. Her attention was still being held by their Potions homework. She again tried to pass the parchment in James's direction, but instead he shook his head.

"Lily," he insisted, "put the papers down and look at your wrist."

She gave him an unamused glance, but when she saw how shaken up he was, she did as he requested.

It took her a moment to fully understand, as the place where her trusted kangaroo had always resided was now covered by something else entirely. A... a deer?

"It's a deer," she said dumbly. Her right hand gently caressed her wrist as she grappled with her change in appearance.

"It's a doe," James said disbelievingly. He grabbed her hand and pulled it close to his face. James lifted his glasses to study the mark further before saying more firmly, "It's a doe."

Lily pulled her hand back quickly. Staring at the mark she marveled, "But… but it's always been a kangaroo."

James fidgeted with his sleeves, seeming to debate whether or not he should roll them up. "Lily, I don't know if you're aware ––"

"That your Patronus is a stag?" she bit, looking up at him. "Of course I'm aware."

James was obviously taken aback by her harsh tone, but more taken aback by how confident her answer was. "You are?"

"James, I can tell you the mark of every student in this school. I know yours is a stag. I know mine _should_ be a kangaroo. What I don't know is what in the world happened."

"Well, you know, some of them do change over time. It's rare, but I know my dad's ––"

"Would you _stop_?" Lily demanded. "Why are you so calm about this?"

"Because," James said quietly, once again reaching for her hand, "I happen to enjoy your company very much." His fingers found the newly formed Patronus on Lily's wrist and began to trace its edge. "Is it really the _worst_ thing in the world for us to have a… special connection?"

"This is more than a special connection," Lily said uncomfortably, watching as James's fingers moved smoothly across her wrist.

"I know that, Lils," he said seriously. He looked up and met her eyes as he said, "Really, I do."

She nodded at him, and then once again Lily pulled her arm away from James. "I have to go," she said, quickly looking down and beginning to gather her Potions work. "I have to finish this, and I'm sure we both have some thinking we'd like to do."

"Hold on," James pleaded as Lily stood up with her arms full of sloppily gathered papers. "I don't need to do any thinking. Why don't we have a conversation instead?"

"Because _I_ need to do some thinking," Lily snarled.

James hopped up from his place at the table and blocked Lily's path of exit. "A dialogue might make this easier for both of us."

"Fine," she said sharply. "I'm not in any position where I'm willing to make a commitment to someone –– let alone you." Her green eyes flashed. "I have more important things to focus on, like my schoolwork and this war. And another thing ––"

"Lily, Lily, Lily," James cut her off quickly, "I'm not looking for a commitment." He placed his hands on her shoulders and she quickly shrugged him off. In turn, he put his hands up in surrender and stated, "I'm not looking to change the way things are."

"But our wrists –"

"Listen, if we're meant to be soulmates then we're met to be soulmates. We'll fall into it eventually. But I've been struggling to secure your friendship for the last year, and I think it'd be nice if we could just continue working on that."

"Focus on friendship?"

"On friendship?" Lily asked, relaxing noticeably.

"Nothing more," James said. "Not until or unless we both agree otherwise."

Lily stiffened for a moment. "I'm not agreeing to anything right now."

"Neither am I," James assured her.

She gave him an assured nod, and then dumped her Potions work back on the table. "Good then," Lily said, reaching out a hand for James to shake. He took it easily as she continued, "In that case, do you think we could get back to this? I still don't understand anything about rootwood."

James let out a relieved sigh, pulling out a seat which Lily quickly reclaimed. "Rootwood seems like a good place to start," he told her, renewed by the prospects ahead of him.


End file.
